USDC, the tokenised dollar run by Circle, is to be the first stablecoin to be officially offered in the Japanese market, after a tie up with a local cryptocurrency exchange.
SBI VC Trade, a consolidated subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings, announced it had registered as “an ‘Electronic Payment Instruments Business Operator’, which will enable us to handle the stable coin ‘USDC’, the first in Japan”.
The statement added that SBI Holdings had signed a “memorandum of understanding for a comprehensive business alliance with Circle Internet Financial”, the issuers of USDC, the world’s largest regulated stablecoin, in November 2023.
“With the completion of our registration as an ‘electronic payment instrument business operator,’ we plan to release a beta version of the USDC… to a limited number of users after our system maintenance on March 12, 2025, and aim to start handling USDC on a full scale as soon as possible,” it said.
USDC is a digital asset that is fully backed by highly liquid cash and cash equivalents that can be exchanged 1:1 for the US dollar.
“Through handling USDC, we will provide customers with access to digital US dollars and promote efficient and cost-effective electronic payment methods in line with the development of the digital economy,” SBI VC Trade said.
The announcement, which coincided with Japan Fintech Week, is the latest marker in the country’s development as a digital assets hub and follows regulation to allow stablecoins to be operated in the country in 2023.
